Aventi Newsletter Issue 11. Safety and Watches.

Watch Safety: Prevention Matters

During last year's Geneva Watch Days 2023, the organizers examined the #watchmaking niche from several points of view, and one of the most interesting was the relationship between watchmaking and society.?

For this, they called to comment on this topic in a talk with several influencers who gather thousands of fans on their social profiles. The names mentioned are from the forefront of the industry, such as Ahmed Shary Rahman, Andrea Casalegno, Asher Rapkin, Austen Chu of Wristcheck, Dillon Bhatt, and Jessica Owens.

Moderated by Wei Koh and Eleanor Picciotto, they were able to offer their views on what the concept of the watch means in different countries around the world, dwelling mainly on the more personal and social experience of wearing a watch, perhaps a precious one, in everyday life.

Alarming and Growing Numbers

The Watch Register is a London-based portal founded in 2016 that collects data on stolen watches such as characteristics and serial numbers, and in a recent report it framed a worrying reality.

As for the brands that most tickle the interest of thieves and robbers, the Maison Rolex dominates the ranking: as many as 44 percent of reported thefts or losses are related to this brand. Rolex is followed by Omega (7 percent), Breitling (6 percent), TAG Heuer (5 percent), Cartier (4 percent) and Patek Philippe (3 percent).

It is noted that, for quite understandable reasons, many of the thefts of #luxury watches take place in large cities and metropolises. The phenomenon is so rampant that some local police forces, in order to curb the phenomenon, are creating dedicated special teams.

In London, for example, as many as 621 watches were reported stolen or lost in just nine months (January to September 2022), and the Metropolitan Police assigned some 40 officers to the task of patrolling the most at-risk areas to take immediate action.?

Although repression is the problem, healthy preventive measures should be implemented, as Richard King, an officer on duty in the London squad who was interviewed by Swiss French-language TV RTS, says, and this depends on the wearers of the watches themselves who often err on the side of "levity."

The officer says these are valuable watch owners who show off their #timepieces on social media, declaring their value, and indicating their whereabouts - for example, going to eat at a certain restaurant on a certain day. It is no wonder that on the way out there is someone waiting for them to relieve them of their precious watches.

Thus, a little more confidentiality on the part of watch wearers would be desirable.

The Typology of Thefts

More concerning than the increasing number of robberies, seems to be the violent nature of modern theft.?

This is a situation also underscored by the instagramers who attended the conference during Geneva Watch Days. Most say they avoid traveling with "important" watches on their wrists, especially when not in "safe" territory.

In fact, the London-based Ahmed Shary Rahman says that in these situations he carries his watch safely out of sight and wears a watch of little value instead.

Another type of theft that is becoming increasingly common is theft from jewelry stores. Real gangs, meticulously and almost militarily organized, smash through the windows and doors of #jewelry stores specializing in watches to steal the safe containing the valuables. This type of theft, which is carefully planned down to the smallest details, can yield as much as hundreds of thousands of euros in loot and sometimes, millions.

How Do the Horological Maisons Gear Up?

The watch houses are not officially commenting on the issue but are quietly dealing with it each in their own way.

Among the various initiatives, Audemars Piguet is studying an insurance policy that can cover its customers from losing their watches.

Other houses, however, are looking at other solutions. The Richemont Group has launched a digital platform called Enquirus to help the global luxury industry prevent watch and jewelry theft, and all data is easily exchanged between retailers and law enforcement to prevent resale of stolen items.

Among the different solutions, we can mention that of Hublot, which launched a special series of the timepiece made with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami where purchase is tied exclusively to proven possession of a particular NFT.

Specifically, there is an open-source technology conveyed by a company, Arianee that promotes blockchain technology for authentication and tracking of luxury goods, particularly in the watch industry with brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Panerai, Roger Dubuis, Breitling, Audemars Piguet, and MB&F.

By creating a digital certification standard based on a common protocol, Arianee offers solutions that can provide end customers of watch brands with a digital passport and allow brands to decide what information to share, while ensuring that this information can be certified by a third party through the blockchain.

The Bottom Line

If wearing a #luxury watch means being subject to some risk, every attendee at the Geneva Watch Days conference agreed that the best strategy is prevention. So, if possible, tuck the watch into your shirt sleeves, or, if too bulky, remove it by taking it to a safe and harder-to-access place such as an inside jacket pocket. Also, it is useful to replace it with a less valuable watch ready for this specific eventuality.

In case things go bad, and you are the target of a robbery, remember to examine the situation carefully and calmly: if you are dealing with professional robbers, the best thing to do is to cooperate and hand over your watch, especially if the thugs are armed (and they often are).

As Ahmed Shary Rahman argued, a watch can be bought back, but from a stab wound one can also die.

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